AT least four banks are reportedly
facing a liquidity crunch thatcould trigger financial tremors similar to
those touched off at the end ofthe 1990s when Zimbabwe was hit by its first
banking sector shock whichthreatened to wipe out a number of financial
institutions.

Impeccable sources at the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) yesterdaysaid that while most banking
institutions had reported high averageliquidity in the six months to
December 31 2002, Beverly Building Society,First Merchant Bank, the Zimbabwe
Development Bank Finance and Trustfin werepotentially headed for the
shifting sands. According to the well-placed
sources, who cannot be named, theliquidity squeeze faced by the institutions
has seen the RBZ significantlyincreasing its funding to the banking sector,
which does not seem to beabout to call time on growth since the phenomenal
growth that began in the1990s. They
revealed that the central bank pumped in $21. 6 billion toaccommodate
troubled banks during the six months to December 31 2002,reflecting a
worrying development over the health of the financialinstitutions in
question. Even though the institutions that
were thrown a lifeline by thecentral bank were not necessarily at the very
deep end but moving towardsit, the level of support, the sources said,
indicated severe liquidity andsolvency problems in the interbank
market. They said that this would be revealed
in an RBZ internal confidentialreport completed in March this year and whose
tone suggests stress for theinstitutions. The central bank's Macroprudential
Surveillance Report, whichis traditionally not released to the public,
provides a general assessmentof the impact that the macro-economic
environment has on the performance ofthe banking
sector. The central bank uses the report for
monitoring developments as itprovides early warning signals to any potential
banking problems, whichcould cause financial
instability. The sources said that banking
authorities' stress testing for a systemwise liquidity crunch when they were
collating information for the reportrevealed that Beverly Building Society,
First Merchant Bank (FMB), ZimbabweDevelopment Bank Finance (ZDBF) and
Trustfin - had a high probability offacing liquidity
problems. The four institutions' adjusted
liquidity ratios were pegged at 7.3percent, 4.8 percent, 4.8 percent and 2.4
percent respectively, during thetime the examinations were carried
out. The adjusted liquidity ratio reflects a
situation whereby those assetsthat are likely to become illiquid in a system
wise crisis such as depositsat other banks and liquid assets guaranteed by
the government are removedfrom liquid
assets. Among other issues, the central bank
also looked at Capital Adequacyand Asset Quality. Stress testing of the
banking sector for adequateprovisions indicated that Agribank, Metropolitan,
Genesis and the LeasingCompany of Zimbabwe (LCZ) were undercapitalised. This
was after assumingthat no collateral was
available. Collateral value is ignored in the
calculation of required provisionsbecause collateral is a secondary source
of capital which may notmaterialise in a crisis
situation. In its report, the sources said,
the RBZ also sounded a warning forMetropolitan Bank, Time Bank, Genesis
Investments and CFX which had reportedhigh adversely classified loans to
total loans ratios of 46 percent, 79.9percent, 63.1 percent and 58.4 percent
respectively. The sources said thecentral bank makes it clear in its report
that this is a red flag thatshould not be
ignored. "In fact there is a statement in the
report which says that 'thisindicates worrying levels of credit risk at
these perennially strugglingbanks, which calls for close monitoring'," the
sources said.

THE Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is understood to be owedover $400 million by
the Department of Information and Publicity in theOffice of the President
and Cabinet in advertising revenue, the FinancialGazette established this
week.

Insiders at the state broadcaster
said the money owing to thecorporation accrued over a period of about two
months when the corporation'sparent ministry ran a series of advertisements
on television and radio thatwere mainly meant to drum up support for the
land reform programme. The bills accrued over
adverts that were flighted between November andDecember last year, under the
banner of "Chave Chimurenga", as governmentstepped up the acquisition of
commercial farms for purposes of resettlinglandless black
Zimbabweans. The sources said that ZBC finance
officer Victor Musundi and hissenior, Lawrence Chataza, in April sent
invoices to the Department ofInformation indicating that the department owed
the corporation some $412719 542. During
the national budget the department, which is headed by JonathanMoyo, was
allocated $13 billion. ZBC chief executive
Munyaradzi Hwengere did not reply to questionssent to him at the time of
going to press. The department is not the only
one that has failed to meet itsobligations. Since the end of the
presidential election in March 2002, theruling ZANU PF has so far failed to
pay $275 million owed to severalcompanies, including one of the country's
leading advertising agencies whichhandled the party's ambitious media
campaign in the run-up to last year'spresidential
elections. One of the worst affected companies
is Lintas Advertising Agency, akey player in the massive radio, television
and newspaper campaigns, as itis owed $209 million which it has been failing
to recover. Some of the companies that are
owed money include Textile Printersthat is owned by ZANU PF chief whip and
Mberengwa West Member of ParliamentJoram
Gumbo. Other firms include Millennium
Advertising and Corporate Marketing. No
comment could be obtained from Moyo, as he was said to be in ameeting but
his secretary referred this paper's inquiries to GeorgeCharamba, the
Permanent Secretary in the ministry who was said to
beunavailable.

The 55 000-member Zimbabwe Teachers'
Association (Zimta) yesterdaydeclared an indefinite strike after the
government failed to accept demandsby the teachers for an immediate salary
review, teacher representativessaid.

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), which boasts of
amembership of 13 000 teachers, immediately rallied, saying it would
supportZimta. Marathon meetings between
the Zimta and Public Service Commission(PSC) officials yesterday failed to
break an impasse between the governmentand the teachers over the issue,
which has been outstanding since January. "The
demands by the teachers have not been met. As a result allpersonnel in the
education fraternity have decided to withdraw their labourwith effect from
today," said the Zimta secretary-general, Dennis
Sinyolo. The government awarded an 80 percent
salary increment to the teachersin January but did not implement
recommendations of a job evaluationexercise that involved job profiling,
grading and compensation of allteachers.
This has since not been done. The move would have meant the upgradingof the
teaching profession in the civil service and enhancing
theirremuneration. "We will support the
Zimta strike, but we'll remain in the background," said the PTUZ
secretary-general Raymond Majongwe.

TRADITIONAL chiefs who helped
President Robert Mugabe to securevictory in the controversial election last
year are demanding that he shouldbuy them service vehicles and increase
their monthly gratuities, theFinancial Gazette established
yesterday.

There are 266 traditional
chiefs in the country who are each receivingmonthly pay-outs of $50 000.
Mugabe promised to give the chiefs vehicleswhen he addressed them at their
annual meeting in January. Jonathan Mangwende,
President of the Chiefs Council confirmed therewas growing agitation among
the chiefs who were worried by the delayeddelivery of the promised
vehicles. He said that he did not even have an
idea when the vehicles wouldarrive, as the government had not invited
tenders for the supply of thevehicles.
"The promised vehicles are not yet there but I understand that thegovernment
is still working on the modalities of acquiring them,"
Mangwendesaid. A modest brand new vehicle
now costs between $35 million and $40million on the
market. This means the total cost of the
entire fleet for the 266 chiefs couldamount to more than $9 billion. There
is no provision for that in thecurrent national
budget. Mangwende said that the vehicles were
now long overdue, as the chiefsneeded them
urgently. Mangwende said that most chiefs were
demanding that the governmentshould hike their monthly allowances because of
the inflationary environmentin the
country. "We need an increase of up to $80
000. The allowance is neversufficient and we will continue to ask for
periodic reviews till we die," hesaid.
Traditional chiefs had their allowances increased up to $50 000 from$18 000
last year, while that of their headmen doubled to $20 000 in Januarythis
year. Mugabe last year electrified and built
boreholes at chiefs' homesteadsin a move that was calculated at winning
their hearts in the face of stiffopposition from the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change presidentMorgan
Tsvangirai. A provision of $4.5 million was
allocated to each province in the 2003budget for use by the chiefs in their
official activities. Ignatious Chombo,
Minister of Local Government and his deputy ChiefFortune Charumbira were
both unavailable for comment as there were said tobe out of the office and
their mobiles were continuously out of reach.

ATTEMPTS by African leaders to bring
the ruling ZANU PF and oppositionMovement for Democratic Change (MDC)
together are a clear signal of Africanleaders' frustrations of the potential
damage the Zimbabwe crisis will haveon the continent, diplomatic sources
said.

The sources said the leaders wanted
to be seen as capable of reiningin trouble spots on the continent such as
Zimbabwe, Burundi, Ivory Coast andthe Democratic Republic of Congo in the
hope of courting support from the G8industrialised nations for the New
Partnership for Africa Development(NEPAD).
They said President Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo who are part ofleaders
spearheading the NEPAD programme were concerned about the potentialdamage
the crisis in Zimbabwe would have on the continent's attempts to lureG8
industrialised nations to back NEPAD.
President Bakili Muluzi also attended this week's talks with PresidentRobert
Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The
sources said the Zimbabwe meeting was even more crucial before theG8 nations
summit in the French Alpine resort town of Evian from June1-3this year where
the NEPAD programme will come under
discussion. One of the key elements of NEPAD
is peer review, which allows memberAfrican countries to keep an eye on each
other's progress towards just,accountable and open
government. "It was Mbeki and Obasanjo who
undertook to have this visit becausethey should give evidence that they are
doing something about Zimbabwe," aHarare based European diplomat told the
Financial Gazette. "Next month the G8 is
meeting in Evian and the question that will beobviously asked to the
architects of the programme is can you handle theZimbabwe crisis within the
context of NEPAD." Under NEPAD, which is
modelled on the "Marshall Plan" through whichthe United States (US) helped
rebuild Europe after World War Two, Africaneeds US$64 billion of investment
inflows annually to ensure
sustainablegrowth. The architects of
NEPAD, who include Mbeki and Obasanjo have promisedthe industrialised
nations to break with a past of misrule to court supportfor their ambitious
African renaissance plan. Last year in March
African heads of state who gathered in Abuja,Nigeria gave strong support for
a declaration on good political governance,committing heads of state to
uphold plural democracy, respect human rightsand freedom of the press and
judiciary and to eradicate corruption. But of
all trouble spots on the continent, Zimbabwe has remained asticking point
between the West and African nations dividing theCommonwealth on racial
grounds. African leaders have battled to
separate the Zimbabwe crisis fromNEPAD but the southern Africa's political
and economic crisis has snowballedsince March last year when President
Mugabe was controversially re-electedin a ballot the MDC claims was
flawed. Members of the G8 grouping who have
been critical of Zimbabwe areBritain, Canada and the
US. However, diplomats said they were
encouraged by the talks between theAfrican leaders with President Robert
Mugabe and MDC leader MorganTsvangirai this week but said initial
indications were that the two couldnot meet any time
soon. They said while Tsvangirai had indicated
his willingness to meetMugabe without any conditions, they expressed concern
about Mugabe'scondition that the MDC leader first recognises him as the
legitimate head ofstate, saying this could stall any
talks. Mugabe, talking tough after meeting
African leaders said theopposition party which has launched a legal
challenge to his re-electionlast year should recognise the 79 former
guerilla leaders as Zimbabwe'spresident if dialogue is to
resume. Diplomatic sources privy to the
discussions said the MDC had shot downObasanjo's proposition that the
opposition party accept the existence of theElectoral Supervisory Commission
which the opposition say is not
properlyconstituted. It also emerged this
week that some members of the European Union hadput pressure on South Africa
to hold talks with ZANU PF and the MDC threeweeks ago to break the political
impasse that has gripped the country. South
African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Zhlamini Zuma met governmentofficials in
France and Germany where the Zimbabwean issue was
discussed. "The South African Foreign Minister
was in France and Germany threeweeks ago where concern was raised about what
is happening in Zimbabwe," asenior Western diplomat
said. "They helped to push for these
talks." Analysts and political commentators
this week said the problemsaffecting Zimbabwe were a major issue for the
West, which has been criticalof Mugabe's
policies. The analysts said there was now a
realisation especially by regionalleaders that Zimbabwe was a blocking
mechanism to attracting foreigninvestment to the
region. Brian Raftopolous, director of the
Zimbabwe of Development Studies atthe University of Zimbabwe this week said
Muluzi, Mbeki and Obasanjo wouldhave wanted to see a quick resolution to
buttress their claim that Africawas able to solve its own
problems. "I think the Zimbabwe question has
impacted and will continue to do soon NEPAD if it is not addressed,"
Raftopolous said. "Zimbabwe is still a major
issue for the West and on the part ofAfrican leaders there has to be an
indication that there is a movementforward on the Zimbabwe
crisis." Analysts also said eventually there
would have to be a compromisebetween Mugabe and Tsvangirai to pull Zimbabwe
out of the woods. The analysts however said
Mugabe was expecting the MDC to put a lot onthe table while not giving
anything himself. "He (Mugabe) is expecting
the MDC to put a lot on the table while hehimself is not giving anything,"
Raftopolous added.

CHIEF Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku has
dropped out of the case in whichHigh Court judge, Benjamin Paradza, is
challenging the constitutionality ofhis controversial
arrest.

It emerged yesterday that there
were serious differences among thejudges over Paradza's
case. Legal experts had been urging Justice
Chidyausiku to recuse himselffrom the case after it emerged that he had
sanctioned Paradza's arrest, anissue that caused 10 other High Court judges
to protest against theircolleague's
arrest. Paradza was arrested in February on
corruption charges. In their petition to
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs MinisterPatrick Chinamasa, the
judges said proper procedures had not been followedbefore Paradza's arrest
and that the action by the police tarnished theJudge's image and belittled
him. Paradza, who is on bail, is accused of
interfering with the trial of afriend and business partner, Russel
Luschagne, who has since been jailed
formurder. The Financial Gazette
established yesterday that Justice Chidyausikuhas been left out of the case,
which will be heard by a full Supreme Courtbench comprising Justice's Wilson
Sandura, Misheck Cheda, Venarda Ziyambi,Luke Malaba and Elizabeth Gwaunza on
Tuesday. Efforts to get a comment from Justice
Chidyausiku or the Registrar ofthe Supreme Court proved fruitless as phones
at the Supreme Court wentunanswered yesterday morning and in the
afternoon. But sources said Justice
Chidyausiku had opted out of the case due tothe damning allegations made
against him by Paradza. "He had become an
interested party and the wisest thing to do was towatch by the sidelines
than take an active part. That's what he chose to do,otherwise no-one was
going to respect the determination of the Court if hehad taken part," said a
source in the legal fraternity closely linked to
thecase. After his arrest, Paradza
attacked Justice Chidyausiku and High CourtJudge President Paddington Garwe
for compromising the independence of thejudiciary by allowing his
arrest. Conduct "totally
unacceptable" In a Supreme Court application
challenging the constitutionality ofhis arrest, Paradza accused Justice
Chidyausiku of failing to protect himand described the Chief Justice's
conduct as "totally unacceptable". Legal
experts also called on Justice Chidyausiku to recuse himselffrom the case
saying he could not make a ruling in a case in which "tenjudges on his bench
have already pronounced a determination".
Paradza also deplored Justice Chidyausiku's conduct, which he said wasmeant
to safeguard the Chief Justice's cosy relations with the
government. "I would have expected them
(Justice's Chidyausiku and Garwe) toprotect the integrity of the bench by
insisting that there was no need formy arrest and being placed on remand
without correct procedure beingfollowed," said
Paradza. "I can only assume that they did not
do so for fear that they wouldfall out of favour with the executive, as
happened in the case of the formerchief justice (Anthony) Gubbay and the
other judges of the High Court whoresigned their
offices." Paradza maintained in his
application that his arrest was politicallymotivated and that proper
channels had not been followed. He argued thatPresident Robert Mugabe, on
the advice of Justice Chidyausiku, should havefirst set up a tribunal to
ascertain the validity of the allegations leveledagainst
him. It also emerged yesterday that judges
were sharply divided betweenthose who are against Paradza's arrest and those
who refused to sign thepetition. Judiciary sources said some senior judges
with personaldifferences with Paradza masterminded his arrest hence the
clandestinemanner in which the arrest was
handled. "It doesn't matter how the serious
the issue might have been. Thesimple fact is that a tribunal should have
been set up but you see, becausethere was more to this issue, some people
wanted Paradza to get the worsthumiliation
possible. "Otherwise where in this world would
you find a police officerarresting a judge in his chambers, minutes before
handling an urgent matter?The whole thing has left a number of judges uneasy
about their securityshould they also ruffle a few top feathers in future,"
said the source.

TOURISM activities in
the country's two major resort areas - VictoriaFalls and Hwange - have
suffered a major set-back due to acute fuelshortages, with service stations
reporting that they have had no suppliesfor the past three
weeks.

Industry players in the two resort
towns said they had managed tostitch up an arrangement in which they secure
fuel from Kasane in Botswanaand Livingstone in Zambia, but maintained this
was a temporary reprieve andone that was benefiting only a few
players.

"We have really suffered because
of the fuel shortages. At times webuy fuel either from Botswana or Zambia
but it's not all of us who haveaccess to foreign currency," said an operator
who cannot be named forprofessional
reasons.

"Most of the vehicles have spent
the past three-and-a-half weeksqueuing for the arrival of the commodity but
without any luck."

The tourism industry
has in the past suggested that the governmentshould rate the sector a
priority beneficiary in the allocation of fuelsince it is a key player in
the revival of the country's economy andgenerates much-needed foreign
currency, but that proposal has not yet
beenaccepted.

The tourism sector used
to be the second highest performer in terms ofits contribution to the
country's gross domestic product. It has lost itslustre over the past three
years due to a combination of factors, among themthe poor economic situation
prevailing in Zimbabwe and an unstable politicalenvironment that has spurred
bad publicity in both the domestic and theinternational
Press.

A number of European countries,
which form the bulk of Zimbabwe'stourist traffic, have issued travel alerts
warning their citizens againsttravelling to
Zimbabwe.

Other tour operators said they
have since registered some of theircompanies either in Botswana or Zambia to
help them easily secure fuelsupplies for their Zimbabwean
operations.

"Some of us have now
registered our companies in Zambia or Botswana sothat we can get fuel
without having to resort to parallel market dealings,"said the
official.

"Registering in these countries
has not been easy because at times thegovernment officials there are hostile
to Zimbabweans."

No comment was
immediately available from Zimbabwe Council forTourism, headed by Zimbabwe
Sun Hotels chief executive officer ShingiMunyeza, and Environment and
Tourism Minister Francis Nhema.

Zimbabwe
has of late been getting inconsistent fuel supplies fromKuwait, South
Africa, Botswana and Nigeria. The bulk of its fuel comes fromthe Kuwait
Independent Group, which is reportedly mulling cutting offsupplies into the
country because of a US$70 million debt now
outstanding.

AFTER all the hype and excitement that
characterised the visit toZimbabwe by South African President Thabo Mbeki,
Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjoand Bakili Muluzi of Malawi, the three African
leaders have left the countryas they found it - in a political stalemate
that threatens to drag thecountry down the
abyss.

After meeting both President Robert
Mugabe and opposition Movement forDemocratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan
Tsvangirai, the three African leaderscould not do much more than harp on a
familiar song - a tune they have sungevery time they have talked about
Zimbabwe, but a tune that the Zimbabweanpolitical leadership has evidently
failed to dance to. Before they left for their
various destinations, Muluzi, Mbeki andObasanjo could only - for the
umpteenth time - encourage ZANU PF and the MDCto go back to the negotiating
table. But ordinary Zimbabweans expected
Mbeki, Obasanjo and Muluzi to farebetter. Despite stressing this point for
over a year, dialogue has evidentlyfailed to take off the ground, and the
three African leaders ought to haveknown that by
now. Which is why speculation was rife that
the African leaders had come towork out an exit plan for Mugabe and pave the
way for a transitionalgovernment, for that could be the only reasonable
thing that might saveZimbabwe from further
ruin. Perhaps what should now be made clear to
any mediators to theZimbabwean crisis, Mbeki and Obasanjo particularly, is
that expectingmeaningful dialogue between Mugabe and Tsvangirai could be a
far-fetcheddream at the moment. What Mbeki
and Obasanjo seem to have failed to grasp is that Mugabehas long ceased to
be part of the solution to this country's crisis. He hasbecome part of the
problem that has to be rid of. Hence, the
starting point to normalising the situation in Zimbabwewould be a bold and
clear declaration by Mugabe that finally he is steppingdown as President of
this country. Only after such a move can anyone beginto facilitate
meaningful dialogue between the opposition and the
government. So, any efforts to find a
negotiated settlement to the Zimbabwe crisisshould kick off from that
pragmatic start. As soon as Mugabe is out of
the way, a reasonable and politicallyacceptable person within ZANU PF,
someone in the mould of Simba Makoni orJohn Nkomo, should lead a
transitional government that would be tasked withorganising fresh
elections. The challenge therefore lies in how
to find a way to convince Mugabethat, for posterity's sake, it is time he
realises that his continuedpresence is not adding any value to the country.
To convince him that a newdispensation with new ideas, with the zeal to cut
across political andracial barriers in working for Zimbabwe and a
dispensation that enjoysinternational goodwill is the only thing that can
save Zimbabwe fromcollapse. But there is
doubt that Obasanjo, Mbeki or Muluzi - riddled by theirown domestic
shortcomings - could prevail over Mugabe and convince him thathis is a dying
regime that should pass the baton on. During
their visit, the three African leaders appeared more determinedto have
Tsvangirai endorse Mugabe's legitimacy than push for an exit planfor the
President as had been expected of them. But,
of course, Zimbabweans should know that expecting the trio toprevail over
Mugabe might not be too different from placing one's faith inthe hands of
Lucifer and hope that the devil might deliver one to the
PearlyGates. Obasanjo is grappling to
legitimise his own re-election that has beendogged by allegations of
irregularities and has been described as fraudulentby the international
community, while Muluzi has tried in vain to force anunconstitutional third
term bid in his country where he barred people fromprotesting his
manoeuvres. It is common knowledge that Mbeki is a totalfailure when it
comes to dealing with Zimbabwe. Therefore it is high timethat Zimbabweans
sought solutions to their own problems. A good
number of people within ZANU PF and those in the MDC are awarethat
Zimbabwe's biggest obstacle to peace and prosperity is
Mugabe. What is now needed is to find common
ground for the progressive forceswithin ZANU PF and those in the MDC on how
Mugabe can be convinced toretire. The
situation, though, is not being made any easier by hardlinepositions taken
by both the MDC and ZANU PF. Some malcontents
within ZANU PF, using pre-emptive methods, have beendoing their best to
thwart any talk of a possible Mugabe retirement. Thesepolitical upstarts,
aware that they might not survive politically in apost-Mugabe era, have used
their control over the public media to attackanyone, within or outside ZANU
PF, linked to any succession talk. This,
coupled with the pre-condition that Tsvangirai shouldacknowledge Mugabe's
legitimacy before any dialogue could ensue, haveeffectively put a damper on
any hopes that Mugabe might be talked
intoretirement. On the other hand, the MDC
has also set conditions that they knowMugabe will obviously refuse to
accept. The opposition should also begin toshift its stance and silence any
talk of retribution after Mugabe has leftoffice if any headway is to be
made. While Mugabe's past has been less than
holy - what with the unsavouryevents of the 1980s in Matabeleland - the MDC
should make assurances thatMugabe would be left to retire in peace should he
leave voluntarily. Thiscould help in achieving the broader agenda of ridding
the country of Mugabe. That Mugabe could be
worried about his future once he leaves officegives him little incentive to
retire. He might rather pull the country rightdown into his grave with him
than face prosecution for crimes againsthumanity. For that could be the only
way he can assure himself of eternalpeace.
Hence, the MDC is unlikely to achieve much by promising to "deal withMugabe
and his henchmen once they leave office". A
more reconciliatory approach might do the trick and rid Zimbabwe ofthe major
obstacle in success' way. The goal, for both
the MDC and right-thinking ZANU PF officials,should be one and that is to
pull Zimbabwe out of its current mess. Butbefore that, the President has to
leave and the sooner the better. NOW wouldeven be
perfect.

Harare's citizens at the mercy of food and fuel
shortages and brutal police

Andrew Meldrum in HarareThursday May 8,
2003The Guardian

In Harare these days you never know where you are
going to end up when youtake a taxi. A dozen passengers crammed into a taxi
van recently complainedangrily among themselves about Zimbabwe's high
inflation, critical fuelshortages and the police who shoved them when they
were stopped atroadblocks.When one man tried to defend the police, a
woman retorted: "The police arejust Mugabe's dogs." The rest of the
passengers cheered. When the taxistopped, the man jumped out and ran to some
nearby police officers. Heidentified himself as an off-duty policeman and
ordered them to arrest thepassengers. They were jailed overnight and charged
for insulting police, acrime under the Public Order and Security
Act.

For many months horror stories have been emerging from Zimbabwe
about thesuffering inflicted by President Robert Mugabe. Newspapers have
been filledwith accounts of political corruption, rapes and beatings. But
behind thesestories lie the daily hardships felt by the capital's 1.7
million people.

What was once a thriving city has descended into a place
of emptysupermarkets, petrol queues and blackouts.

In the past week
the longstanding fuel shortages have taken a turn for theworse. Hundreds of
vehicles spend entire days and nights in fuel queues inHarare. "We used to
laugh at Zambians because of all the shortages they had.Now they are
laughing at us because it is much worse here," said a salesman."We never
thought it would get this bad."

A few months ago Mr Mugabe's motorcade of
more than 20 vehicles, includingtwo trucks full of armed soldiers, passed a
fuel queue on Samora MachelAvenue in downtown Harare. The president was met
by jeers and hoots ofderision. Some people threw empty cans. The soldiers
later returned and beatup many of those in the queue. A law has also been
passed declaring itillegal to make derogatory comments or gestures to the
presidentialmotorcade.

Harare's new mayor, Elias Mudzuri, tried to
improve city services; garbagecollections were organised and crews sent out
to fill potholes. But MrMudzuri, elected by nearly 80% of Harare's voters,
belongs to the oppositionparty, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Last week the Mugabegovernment sacked him, accusing him of incompetence and
corruption. MrMudzuri has been barred from his office and has gone into
hiding afterreceiving threats.

At first glance, the supermarket in
central Harare appears well-stocked andbusy. But on closer inspection, rows
and rows of toilet paper are displayed."That is where there should be salt
and that is where there should be sugar,but those items are out of stock so
they put up toilet paper," said IdahMandaza.

"And mealie meal [maize
meal, Zimbabwe's staple food] and cooking oil andsoap, they have all been
replaced with toilet paper. But we can't eat loopaper. Either basic things
are not available or I can't afford them. I neverthought it would come to
this."

For Mrs Mandaza, Zimbabwe's inflation of 228% and 12% decline in
GDP are notdry economic statistics. They are the harsh facts of life that
she, herfamily and everyone in Zimbabwe grapple with daily.

Mrs
Mandaza, 53, is proud of her job as the assistant production manager ina
Harare factory. But by the time she pays for travel to and from work andher
rent for a small two-roomed house, more than half of her salary is gone."I'm
lucky, I have two sons and they both have jobs. But I still must bevery
careful when I shop. I support my mother and my sister, plus I help
mybrothers in the rural areas. There is just not enough money," she
said.

Zimbabwe's once thriving middle-class is struggling to get by, but
the poorare desperate. Growing numbers are begging and rummaging through
rubbishbins. The disparity in wealth has widened after two years of
economiccrisis.

"In 40 years working as a doctor, I have never seen
so many cases ofmalnutrition, particularly among children," said a general
practitioner. "Itused to be that I would only see signs of kwashiorkor [a
form ofmalnutrition caused by inadequate protein intake] in children from
the ruralareas. Now I see it in city children."

The United Nations
estimates that nearly 1 million urban Zimbabweans do nothave enough food. In
total, more than 7 million of the country's 12 millionpeople are threatened
with starvation, according to the government. Just afew years ago Zimbabwe
was extolled as the breadbasket of Africa for all thesurplus food it
exported.

An unruly commotion erupts in the supermarket as people rush to
the bakerysection where bread is put on the shelves. After a few minutes of
shovingand grabbing, the bread is gone. One woman was knocked down in the
scuffle.

There used to be a similar rush when milk and other fresh dairy
productswere delivered. But for two weeks there have not been any milk
deliveries. Adairy farm that supplied 40% of Harare's milk has been overrun
by MrMugabe's supporters, according to local newspaper reports.

The
supermarket no longer puts its rare deliveries of maize meal or otherscarce
items on sale in the store. After some mini-riots in which shelveswere
knocked down, the scarce goods are sold at the back of the store
wheredeliveries are made. People queue there for hours.

Zimbabwe's
once respected police are now widely feared for arbitraryarrests, beatings
and torture. In the past two months 10 high-profileZimbabweans, including
three members of parliament and one lawyer, haveaccused police of torturing
them with electric shocks. Medical examinationshave confirmed injuries
consistent with their harrowing accounts. Most werereleased without
charges.

Last month more than 250 opposition supporters were forced to go
intohospital after men dressed in army uniforms raided their homes and
beatthem.

But not everyone is gloomy and depressed. "The worse things
get, the soonerwe will have a change," said one motorist queueing for fuel.
"The more angrypeople get, the sooner they will press Mugabe to
go."

He pointed to the visit to Harare on Monday of South Africa's
presidentThabo Mbeki and his Nigerian equivalent Olusegun Obasanjo. "Do you
thinkthey came to congratulate Mugabe on doing such a good job? No, they
came totell Mugabe he must go. The pressure is mounting and change is in the
air. Ican feel it."

Immigration officials in Zimbabwe last night demanded to
interview AndrewMeldrum, the Guardian's correspondent in Harare, in what his
lawyers suspectwas an attempt to deport him. He was not at home when they
called.Five officials visited Meldrum's house at about 8pm. They refused to
tellhis lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, why they wished to talk to him.

Ms
Mtetwa said from her experience it appeared that the immigrationofficials
intended to deport Meldrum. "They said they wanted to interviewhim and I
offered to take him to them in the morning but they declined," shesaid.
"When they come in the night they want to lock you up and they takeyou away
when no one can see it being done."

The Zimbabwean authorities have been
attempting to imprison and deportMeldrum for over a year. Last July the high
court in Harare rejected a moveby the government of President Robert Mugabe
to have him deported.

In the same month a magistrates court acquitted
Meldrum of charges broughtunder a draconian new press law which threatened
to punish journalistswriting "falsehoods". In a ruling that may have had
some bearing on lastnight's events, Zimbabwe's supreme court yesterday
struck down key sectionsof the law under which Meldrum had been
prosecuted.

Ms Mtetwa said she would write to immigration officials to
ask why they wantto interview Meldrum, and whether he is facing any
charges.

Meldrum is one of the last international journalists reporting
from insideZimbabwe. He holds permanent resident status, having covered the
country forthe Guardian for 22 years.

Immigration officials appeared
at Meldrum's house just after he had filed areport on the hardships of
Harare's residents, which is published on page 4.

The tactics of
Zimbabwe's opposition movement have alienated much of thecontinent. But a
softening of its approach may change things

Liz McGregorThursday May
8, 2003The Guardian

There are two schools of thought on how to
resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe.The first demands regime change - either by
force, Iraq-style, or byinternational pressure, as economic sanctions.
Robert Mugabe must go bywhatever means necessary. The second school believes
that the solution mustcome from within. Zimbabwe's warring parties need to
be persuaded to sitdown together and work out how best to save their
country. Focus onindividuals is not helpful; compromise on both sides is of
the essence.Roughly, the first school of thought is situated in the mainly
white,developed world while the second is advocated by African leaders and
thedeveloping world.

So far, neither school has been able to show
much success - with Zimbabwesliding ever-deeper into economic and political
chaos - except for one smallbreakthrough this week for the African school.
After a meeting with Africa'spolitical heavyweights, Olusegun Obasanjo of
Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki ofSouth Africa, Mugabe agreed for the first time to
begin a dialogue with theMovement for Democratic Change. The African leaders
also formally met MorganTsvangirai, leader of the MDC, where they hit their
first stumbling block.Mugabe's precondition for talks with the MDC was that
it first recognise himas Zimbabwe's legitimate leader and drop its legal
challenge to last year'selection results. Tsvangirai refused.

From
the African perspective, Mugabe now holds the moral high ground
andTsvangirai is being obstructionist. The argument is that
Zanu-PF'sintimidation tactics were obvious before the vote began. The MDC
should havewithdrawn from the election at that point, rather than cry foul
once itlost. Morgan Tsvangirai gave his word to the Organisation of African
Unitythat he would respect the outcome of the election, whichever way it
went.His failure to do so and his subsequent denunciation of the OAU
for"supporting dictators" infuriated African leaders.

Given the
difficulties in conducting elections in Africa that all sidesregard as free
and fair, the African Union, successor to the OAU, hasadopted a pragmatic
approach. Mugabe is recognised by the UN and Africanleaders as having won
the election. That makes his position legitimate.After all, if every
contested election result were overthrown, Obasanjohimself would be in a
difficult position, given the objections against hisrecent win in the
Nigerian elections.

Tsvangirai's strength - his ability to mobilise
western support -significantly weakens his position on his home continent.
It has enabledMugabe to paint the international campaign against him as a
bid by Britainto protect the white farmers whose land he seized, many of
whom hold Britishpassports. He has branded the MDC as a foreign body
manipulated by Britain,and the MDC has played into his hands by cultivating
white constituenciesabroad while publicly criticising African
leaders.

"The MDC should have read that Britain and Australia's concern
aboutZimbabwe was perceived as being concern for British expatriates," says
DrEddy Maloka, head of the Africa Institute in Pretoria. "They have
mismanagedthe situation and alienated themselves from the
continent."

Contrary to Mugabe's propaganda, however, the MDC has a solid
popular basein Zimbabwe. It was born out of the urban protests against the
IMF-imposedeconomic structural adjustment programme in the 1990s and
consolidated intoa formidable opposition movement to fight the 2000
referendum onconstitutional change. The changes would have increased the
power of thepresidency and allowed Mugabe another two terms in office. To
woo the ruralvote, Mugabe added a clause to his draft constitution promising
toredistribute land held by white farmers. Whites made up 1% of the
populationbut owned two-thirds of the country's arable land. As he had been
makingthis promise for years, he was not believed and rural voters
abstained. Onlya quarter of the electorate - largely city dwellers - voted
and thegovernment lost the referendum, its first electoral defeat since
1980. TheMDC had proved to be a serious threat and the government response
wasrepression.

Determined to mobilise the rural vote for the 2002
presidential campaign,Mugabe finally made good on his promised land reform,
albeit in a chaoticand destructive fashion, and 95% of the farms held by
whites were seized. Itwas to Britain that the MDC appealed for help, with
its leaders touringEuropean countries to marshal support. Britain - and the
British media -responded with an onslaught on Zimbabwe.

This appeal
to the former colonial master appeared to African leaders to bea humiliating
regression to the past. Africa had demonstrated itswillingness to sort out
its own problems - witness the recent peacesettlements in the Democratic
Republic of Congo and in Burundi, bothnegotiated by African
leaders.

Southern African analysts believe that, for the process to move
forward,there needs to be an end to the grandstanding and confrontational
politics -and a shift to dialogue and compromise. Now that Mugabe has
indicated thathe is prepared to stop trying to obliterate the MDC and
instead formallyrecognise its legitimacy by agreeing to talks, it only needs
Tsvangirai todo the same. His meeting with Obasanjo and Mbeki is a step in
thatdirection.

"The MDC should focus on the stabilisation of the
economy in the shortterm," says Maloka. "In the medium term, Mugabe will
retire. The MDC needsto focus on influencing the transitional process and
positioning the partyto secure the future."

During Zimbabwe's opening match in February, against Namibia in
Harare, AndyFlower and Henry Olonga wore black armbands and issued a
statement mourningthe 'death of democracy' in Zimbabwe under President
Robert Mugabe.

And Grant Flower said the only reason he had not joined
the duo was becausehe was worried about lessening the impact of the duo's
protest. "I agreedwith what they did," Grant Flower said on Wednesday. "To
be honest I wantedto join them.

"But I thought it would be a better
and a bigger statement if it was justthe two of them, one white person and
one black person.

"I think what they did was a good thing," added Grant
ahead of Zimbabwe'stour match with Worcestershire starting here at New Road
on Friday(tomorrow). "It wasn't a matter of colour, it was a question of
right andwrong," explained Flower who added he had spoken to, but not yet
seen, hisbrother.

Andy Flower retired from international cricket
after the World Cup and isnow playing for English county Essex, while Olonga
is also in England,playing for a club side having narrowly escaped arrest by
the Zimbabwesecurity services in South Africa.

The Flowers' parents
are also living in England, as are Andy's wife andchildren.

Grant
admitted it was odd no longer having Andy, a cornerstone of the teamsince
Zimbabwe's admission to Test cricket in 1992, in the side but deniedfeeling
lonely. "It's different, but I wouldn't say I feel isolated," thetop-order
bat and left-arm spinner insisted. "Zimbabwe is still a greatplace to live
in even though we're having tough times."

And he maintained that his
relationship with his brother had in no way beendamaged by any fall-out from
Andy's protest. "We get on very well. We arevery competitive, but we helped
with each other's games."

Flower is the only player in the current squad
with a Test hundred to hisname and at, 32, is one of Zimbabwe's elder
statesmen with 3,359 Test runsat 30.26 from 63 matches.

But his
brother, who averaged over fifty in Tests, was Zimbabwe's one playerof true
world class and Grant said it was important the rest of the teamadjusted
quickly to life without him. "We probably over-relied on him. We'dalways
thought he'd do it. Now it's up to the other guys to step up to
theplate."